Zita the Spacegirl & The Incredible Rockhead

Review by Tintin, age 9

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl
Author/illustrator: Ben Hatke
Publisher: First Second (9/2012)
Genre: Graphic Novel

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl is about a girl who saves the planet Lumponia from star hearts. A robot who is pretending to be the spacegirl is messing things up. I like it because it is an adventurous story. My favorite part was when they used a giant to destroy the star hearts. I will recommend it to kids who like space adventures.

Review by Johnny Boo, age 6

The Incredible Rockhead
Author/illustrator: Scott Nickel/C.S. Jennings
Publisher: Stone Arch Books (8/2012)
Genre: Graphic Novel

Rockhead is about a boy named Chip Stone. In the nurse's office there was a bad guy. He gave him a pill that he doesn't usually take, and it turned him into a rockhead. Chip said, "Rockhead, smash!" His friend turned into someone called Scissorlegz. I liked everything about the book. I would recommend it to people that have rockheads.

Comic-Con: Johnny Boo, G-Man, SpongeBob, VIZ Kids Sampler, Okie Dokie Donuts, Pirate Penguin Vs. Ninja Chicken

We went to San Diego Comic-Con last weekend!





















While there we met James Kochalka, author and illustrator of Johnny Boo. Here he is showing us Dragon Puncher:

Our own Johnny Boo picked just that moment to become shy and overwhelmed, so he hid on the floor while Tintin got the goods--autographed drawings by the Kochalka family and books made by Eli and Oliver Kochalka:

Our autographed drawings (Ray Friesen's Pirate Penguin; the Kochalka family; and Chris Giarrusso's G-Man):

Johnny Boo picked out a SpongeBob comic book, which to our surprise has a contribution from James Kochalka:

We also got a free Viz Kids Sampler, with Mameshiba, Winx Club, Taro, Panda Man, Mr. Men and Little Miss, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda:

And we bought two new graphic novels (reviews coming soon) from Top Shelf Productions, Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris Eliopoulos and Pirate Penguin Vs. Ninja Chicken by Ray Friesen, both coming out August 30!

Buy them:

• Johnny Boo, Dragon Puncher, Okie Dokie Donuts, Pirate Penguin Vs. Ninja Chicken, and more from Top Shelf
• G-Man from ChrisGComics.com
• SpongeBob Comics from one of our favorite comic shops
• VIZ Kids comics from VIZ Kids Media

Word of the Week/Squirrelly Gray

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is succulent, a verb meaning "juicy; moist and tasty."

And we're reading Squirrelly Gray, in which Hungry Fox says to Squirrelly Gray, "Are you in need of assistance, my succulent young fellow?" 

Squirrelly Gray
Author/illustrator: James Kochalka
Publisher: Random House Children's Books (August 2007)
Source: Public library

Squirrelly Gray lives in a boring, colorless world where his only entertainment is the static on his TV. He's so bored that he thinks wiggling his teeth is fun. When those teeth fall out, he hides them under his pillow and tries to go to sleep. But then he hears someone calling for help and finds the Tooth Fairy stuck in a spider web. Squirrelly rescues her, and in return she gives him a magic acorn. With no teeth to crack open the acorn, Squirrelly tries to think of a way to find out what makes this acorn so magical, but can he figure out just what to do before Hungry Fox eats him? Bonus: This book is by the author/illustrator of Johnny Boo, one of our favorite graphic novel series! 


Tintin's note: My favorite part is when the hungry fox cracked the magic acorn and there was a rainbow.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked it because it was great and awesome, and I liked it because there was freakin' out.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Free Comic Book Day 2011

We scored most of our loot at our local comic shop (although I think I'm going to have to go back to get this year's Mouse Guard), but they were already out of the main reason for our outing by the time we got there. So we drove a bit more to get this:

It features our favorites (Owly, Korgi, and Johnny Boo) and a few new-to-us comics (Upside Down, Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken, and Okie Dokie Donuts). And on the back are pictures of Johnny Boo Does Something!, which comes out in November, and all of the other Top Shelf Kids Club books. So, now that my Johnny Boo knows there's a new Johnny Boo book coming out, he is of course very excited.

If you missed Free Comic Book Day this year, the free Top Shelf Kids Club comic book will be available on the Top Shelf website in June. And, you can sign up to receive a free poster, which of course I just did.

We also got a Yoda drawing from an artist at Keith's Comics in Dallas:

And a couple of Lord of the Rings action figures:

And some secret things for Father's Day.

For more info on Free Comic Book Day, go to freecomicbookday.com.

Books of the Week: Chocolate Fever, Bone, The Earth Book, Planets

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

Chocolate Fever
Author/illustrator: Robert Kimmel Smith/Gioia Fiammenghi
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons (1972)
Source: Public library

Henry Green eats a lot of chocolate, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When he notices brown spots spreading all over his body one day in school, he, his teacher, and the school nurse are baffled, until they notice the overpowering chocolate smell of Henry's spots. At the hospital, the doctor diagnoses Henry with Chocolate Fever, a never-before-seen disease caused by eating too much chocolate. Not wanting to undergo any treatment from a doctor he doesn't trust, Henry runs away and ends up going on an exciting adventure.

Tintin's note: I like when he feels better. My favorite part was when he ran away from all the doctors.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Bone 2: The Great Cow Race
Author/illustrator: Jeff Smith
Publisher: Graphix (August 2005)
Source: Half Price Books

Fone Bone and his cousins, Phoney and Smiley, visit Barrelhaven while planning to get back to Boneville. After Phoney and Smiley fix the village's cow race in an attempt to get rich quick, the villagers find out and chase the Bones out into the forest, but not before giant, evil rats try to kidnap Fone Bone.

Tintin's note: I liked when Rose won the cow race.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Johnny Boo, age 5

The Earth Book
Author/illustrator: Todd Parr
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (March 2010)
Source: ALA Convention 2011

Todd Parr teaches kids how to take care of the earth by offering simple suggestions, like using both sides of the paper and turning off the lights. At the end of the book is a go-green poster with 10 ways kids can help the earth. Number 10, "Put my underwear in the freezer when it's hot," is the favorite in this house, but now I have to keep checking the freezer to make sure my underwear isn't in there.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when it says I put my underwear in the freezer.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Various books about planets and the sun: Space! Jupiter; Space! Mars; Space! Neptune; Space! The Sun; Space! Uranus; Space! Venus; Mercury; Why Isn't Pluto a Planet?
Authors: George Capaccio; Josepha Sherman; Ruth Bjorklund; Christine Taylor-Butler; Steve Kortenkamp

Johnny Boo's been learning about planets in school and insisted on getting these books (and no others) about planets. The Mercury book is the easiest to read, followed by the one on Pluto; the Space! books are geared more toward upper elementary kids, but Johnny Boo liked them anyway. And any books that keep him entertained the whole time I'm taking a shower and getting dressed are winners over here. Plus, now Johnny Boo knows he can't sing on Mercury, so he'll have to find another planet to move to if he doesn't follow the tips in The Earth Book.

Johnny Boo's note: It was great as usual. 

Books of the Week: Geronimo Stilton, Owen, George and Martha, Sticky Burr

This week we decided to record book commercials to get the boys more excited about sharing their opinions (they love looking at themselves). Here are our favorite books from the past week, with excerpts from our commercials:

Tintin, age 8

Geronimo Stilton: The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid
Author/illustrator: Geronimo Stilton
Publisher: Scholastic (February 2004)
Source: Half Price Books

Geronimo Stilton is one of the most popular series at Tintin's school library, and now it's popular with Tintin as well. In The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid, Geronimo is sent to Egypt by his grandfather, the founder of The Rodent's Gazette, to interview a famous archaeologist and learn about the new energy source he's discovered. The archaeologist takes Geronimo into Cheops's pyramid to show him the hieroglyphs that inspired him to come up with the secret ingredient for his new energy source. On the way to the pyramid, Geronimo learns about hieroglyphs and other Egyptian facts, but he also learns about the terrible curse that falls upon anyone who desecrates a pharaoh's tomb. Of course, Geronimo's archaeologist guide reveals that he in fact has desecrated a pharaoh's tomb. Can Geronimo find out the secret ingredient before the archaeologist gets hit with this curse?

Tintin's note: It was a great book and I liked how he went into the pyramid because that's so cool. I got to see the god of the pyramid. My favorite part was when that scientist guy tripped on a stone and then when he got up he didn't remember anything.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound


Johnny Boo, age 5

Owen
Author/illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (September 1993)
Source: Public library

Owen is a lot like Johnny Boo. He's always with his yellow blanket (although Johnny Boo doesn't like to get his blanket dirty). But we don't have a nosy neighbor who tries to talk us into getting rid of Johnny Boo's most prized possession, and Johnny Boo's dad would never go anywhere near vinegar to put it on Johnny Boo's favorite corner. And Johnny Boo has already accepted the fact that he can't bring his favorite blanket to school with him. If he had had a problem with it, I know he'd forbid me from ever trying what Owen's mom did.

Johnny Boo's note: It was great and it was awesome. My favorite part was when Owen had his nightie [blanket] in his pajamas.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends
Author/illustrator: James Marshall
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (September 2008)
Source: School library

We wrote about George and Martha six months ago. It's still a favorite.

Johnny Boo's note: It was really concentrating. I like when George peeks in on Martha.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound


Tintin and Johnny Boo

Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest; Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril
Author/illustrator: John Lechner
Publisher: Candlewick (2008 & 2009)
Source: Public library

Sticky Burr isn't like most of the other burrs in Burrwood Forest, and Scurvy Burr doesn't waste any time letting them know it. Adventures in Burrwood Forest is Sticky Burr's story, about how Scurvy and his friends chase Sticky out of the forest for not acting prickly enough and how Sticky ends up being a hero. In The Prickly Peril it's Scurvy's turn to tell a story. Once again he tries to get rid of Sticky Burr, and once again Sticky Burr comes back the hero. Each book has a song at the end, just right for beginning piano students.

Tintin's note: I like how they go on adventures. They're really cool adventures.  

Johnny Boo's note: It was a great book. It was ridiculous. It was kind of diaryish.

Find them: Amazon (#1, #2), IndieBound (#1, #2)

Books of the Week: Twisted Journeys, The World of Quest, A Sick Day for Amos McGee, My Neighbor Totoro

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

Twisted Journeys 4: The Treasure of Mount Fate
Author/illustrator: Jeff Limke/Clint Hilinski
Publisher: Graphic Universe (August 2007)
Source: Public library

The Treasure of Mount Fate is a choose-your-own-adventure graphic novel. You, the reader, are a hero in training who seeks the treasure rumored to be hidden inside Mount Fate. While on your adventure, depending on which path you choose, you meet dragons, spiders, a wizard locked inside a room for 900 years, stone soldiers, flesh-eating ooze, a genie, skeleton warriors, a water sprite, goblins, hairy beasts, and a sea serpent. I think that might be all. Tintin's already found the treasure, but he still has several more adventures to go.

Tintin's note: It was great. I liked it because it was an adventure book.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The World of Quest, Vol. 2
Author/illustrator: Jason T. Kruse
Publisher: Yen Press (December 2008)
Source: Public library

Prince Nestor and his bodyguard, Quest, are on their way to the wise and boring Rocks to find information on the Dagger of the Way. To get there they must travel through a dangerous forest (a warning sign at the entrance says, "Remember: Limbs are a privilege") and fight off the Snarls sent by the evil Lord Spite. Along the way, Nestor and Quest become separated and Nestor meets a griffin who makes him sign an agreement to pay before he'll help. The graphic novel ends on a cliffhanger.

Tintin's note: I liked when Quest got punched by a hand because it was silly.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Johnny Boo, age 5

A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Author/illustrator: Philip C. Stead/Erin E. Stead
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (May 2010)
Source: Public library

Amos McGee works at a zoo and befriends some of the animals there. He plays chess with the elephant, sits with the shy penguin, and reads to the owl, who is afraid of the dark. When Amos has to stay home and tend to his cold, he gets a surprise visit from his animal friends. The elephant plays chess with him, the shy penguin sits with him and keeps his feet warm, the owl reads to him, and the rest do their part to take care of him. The award-winning illustrations include recurring details throughout – the red balloon that catches up with the penguin, Amos's teddy bear and bunny slippers, and the little mouse and bird – that Johnny Boo liked to point out.

Johnny Boo's note: It was great. I like when he said, "Hooray! My good friends are here!"

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound
  

My Neighbor Totoro, Vols. 1-4
Author/illustrator: Hayao Miyazaki
Publisher: Viz Media (November 2004–February 2005)
Source: Public library

Move over, Lucy Pevensie. Johnny Boo's new crush is 4-year-old Mei. Mei and her older sister, Satsuki, move to the country with their father to be closer to their hospitalized mother. They move into a house haunted by soot sprites and soon find the friendly and magical Totoro. The books, which read from right to left, consist of stills from the movie and minimal text. These books have been carried around and read every day this past week.

Johnny Boo's note: I like the Totoro books because they're good and awesome. I liked when the soot sprites were on Mei.

Find them: Amazon (1, 2, 3, 4), IndieBound (1, 2, 3, 4)

Word of the Week/Bink & Gollie

It's time for our Word of the Week feature here at LitLad. Here's how it works: Every Sunday the boys and I read a book from which they pick their favorite-sounding unfamiliar word. They each write the word that night and we try to use it in conversation as much as we can throughout the week. According to The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, "the only words children learn having heard them only once are the words you wish you had never said in front of them."

This week's word is implore, a verb meaning "to beg for urgently," as Johnny Boo does when he says, "I implore you to read Bink & Gollie to me again."

And we're reading Bink & Gollie, in which a note on Gollie's door says, "Bink: I implore you, do not knock."

Bink & Gollie
Authors/Illustrator: Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee/Tony Fucile
Publisher: Candlewick (September 2010)
Source: Public library

Bink and Gollie are marvelous companions who are complete opposites. Bink lives in a small cottage at the base of Gollie's modern tree house, and they see each other every day. Whether it's to share pancakes or peanut butter sandwiches or to fulfill their need for speed and adventure, the two are almost inseparable. In the book's three humor-filled short stories, the two learn to compromise and overcome jealousy. They go to a sock bonanza, followed by a "compromise bonanza;" after several interruptions from Bink, they meet up at the top of the Andes Mountains (which just happen to be in Gollie's living room); and, after the purchase of a fish named Fred, they learn that fish don't actually long for speed (at least not when roller skates are involved). The digital illustrations (black-and-white with some splashes of color) show off Bink and Gollie's personalities and add to the humor. This book is now a favorite in our house for both boys, especially as a read-aloud. I think we must have read it at least six times in the last couple of days.

Tintin's note: I thought it was really good. It's a fantastic book. I like when the river was frozen and the fish was still swimming under there.

Johnny Boo's note: I liked when Gollie makes pancakes. I liked when Bink got a fish. I recommend this book to people who like people.

For more about Bink & Gollie – the book and the girls – go to the Bink & Gollie website.

For more on Kate DiCamillo, check out Happy Birthday Author.

For more on Bink & Gollie and Kate DiCamillo, visit Johnny Boo's favorite blog, Watch. Connect. Read.

And here's the book trailer:

















Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

8-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: The Book of Beasts, Imagine a Place, Rose (Bone)

Here are Tintin's favorites from the past week:

The Book of Beasts
Author/illustrator: E. Nesbit/Inga Moore
Publisher: Candlewick (October 2001)
Source: Public library

To Lionel's surprise, he's just been made king of his people, even though he's just a boy and there hasn't been a king in quite some time (the people had been saving up for a crown ever since the death of Lionel's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather). When Lionel discovers the palace library, he calls it "a worldful of books" and decides he must look at a book right then and there, despite the chancellor and prime minister's warnings that the books might be magical. He finds a book called The Book of Beasts and opens to the first page. Out pops a beautiful  butterfly. On the next page, a bird flies out. Before Lionel can turn the page, the book is snatched away and put up on a very high shelf. The prime minister and chancellor worry that what's next might be "a snake or a centipede or a revolutionist," but Lionel is tempted and takes the book outside when no one's looking. What he finds is much worse than anyone could have imagined, and now he must find a way to get the fearsome creature back into The Book of Beasts.

Tintin's note: I like it when the dragon comes out of the book. I like when the boy is flying on the hippogriph.

 Find it: Amazon
 

Imagine a Place
Author/illustrator: Sarah L. Thomson/Rob Gonsalves
Publisher: Atheneum (September 2008)
Source: Public library

Imagine a Place follows Imagine a Day and Imagine a Night, two books we still need to read but will be getting soon. Each magic realist painting is accompanied by lyrical text that always begins with "Imagine a place..." The artist, according to this bio, was influenced by René Magritte and M.C. Escher, and you can definitely tell. Gonsalves's work, according to the same bio, "is an attempt to represent human beings' desire to believe in the impossible." Tintin liked the text and especially loved the pictures and would keep saying, "Wait, can you go back to the other one for a minute?"

Tintin's note: I like when there was a houseboat because it is cool, but you can't really take a house out on the ocean. The poems were beautiful. I like when those people were skiing on the blossoms.

 Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Bone: Rose
Author/illustrator: Jeff Smith/Charles Vess
Publisher: Graphix (August 2009)
Source: Public library

Rose is the the first prequel to the original Bone graphic novel series, of which there are eight books. Princess Rose and her sister, Princess Briar, are taking lessons to help build awareness in their dreams. Their parents, the king and queen, soon send them off to take their final test at Old Man's Cave, and that's when the adventure really begins. When a river dragon possessed by the Lord of the Locusts is let loose during one of Rose's dreams, Rose feels she must be the one to stop it. It's a difficult task, seeing as how it appears that the dragon cannot be permanently hurt. The Great Red Dragon gives Rose the solution she needs, but there is a price to pay, and the princess must make a difficult choice. This is the second Bone book Tintin has read (his first was the eighth), but Tintin has said he now wants to read them all in order, which shouldn't take too long, since he finished this one without interruption.

Tintin's note: I liked when Rose cut off the dragon named Mim's head. The drawings were awesome. They were bloody and they were adventurous.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

5-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Adopt a Glurb, Baby Brains and RoboMom, Children Make Terrible Pets

Here are Johnny Boo's favorites from the past week (we'll write about another favorite, Bink and Gollie, for our Word of the Week feature in a couple of days):

Balloon Toons: Adopt a Glurb
Author/illustrator: Elise Gravel
Publisher: Blue Apple Books (August 2010)
Source: Public library

After reading Balloon Toons: Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors (see our review), we were eager to read Adopt a Glurb, a book about a most unusual pet. The book is chock full of everything one needs to know about this cute little monster, with both good points and bad. For instance, three glurbs will make your bed for you, but yell at them and you might wake up with plucked eyebrows. And they stink, even when they're clean. And, like a certain someone I know, they like to unroll toilet paper. But, did I mention they're cute? They even fit in your pocket. They need a lot of attention, though, and act silly if you don't cuddle with them enough. Plus, their hunger rivals that of an 8-year-old boy's. But they're cute.

Johnny Boo's note: It was good. Glurbs stink a lot. I like their freakiness.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Baby Brains and RoboMom
Author/illustrator: Simon James
Publisher: Candlewick (March 2008)
Source: Public library

Johnny Boo insisted on getting this book after having fallen in love with the first two Baby Brains books (see our review). The smartest baby in the whole world is back, but instead of becoming a doctor or a rock star, he's focusing on making life easier for his tired-out mom and dad. He designs RoboMom, who is a huge help – at first. She does the dishes and fixes the car but then soon takes over some responsibilities that Baby Brains would rather his parents do, like changing his diapers and putting him to bed. When RoboMom starts acting a little strange (she serves nuts and bolts in engine oil for breakfast and hangs Baby Brains out to dry with the laundry), Baby Brains realizes it's time to go back to the drawing board, especially after a rather explosive ending for the malfunctioning robot.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when RoboMom exploded. I like when he says, "I want my Mommy!"

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Children Make Terrible Pets
Author/illustrator: Peter Brown
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 2010)
Source: Public library

Lucy is a bear. One day she finds a child spying on her. Lucy really wants a pet, so she takes the child home with her and asks her mother to let her keep "Squeaker" for a pet. Lucy's mother tells her that children make terrible pets, but Lucy doesn't believe her. Squeaker is just so cute that he can't possibly do anything wrong. It turns out, though, that Lucy's mother is right – Squeaker's behavior is really terrible, plus he's hard to potty train. When Lucy finds Squeaker after he's suddenly disappeared, she finally realizes that he's not the right pet for her and tells her mother that she was right, children do make terrible pets. Her mother's reply: They really are the worst.

Johnny Boo's note: It was terrific. I liked when Lucy was being watched by that squeaky person.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Books of the Week: Daniel Boom, Frankie Pickle, Interrupting Chicken, Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 8

The Adventures of Daniel Boom AKA Loud Boy: Grow Up!
Author/illustrator: D.J. Steinberg/Brian Smith
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (April 2010)
Source: Public library

In the fourth and possibly final installment of the Daniel Boom graphic novel series, Daniel and his friends once again try to get rid of Kid-Rid Industries. Their parents all just happen to work there, and when the company decides to have its first-ever Bring Your Child to Work Day, the five superheroes jump at the chance to spy on what goes on behind the scenes. While they're there, however, they all happen to lose their superpowers and youthful energy, which makes it a bit more difficult for them to bring down Kid-Rid and its kid-hating owner, Doctor Docter. Both boys love this series (the colorful artwork helps) and are really hoping for more.

Tintin's note: I like when they turned into old people. It was a great book because they arrested Doctor Docter.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom
Author/illustrator: Eric Wight
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (May 2010)
Source: A Real Bookstore

Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom is part chapter book, part graphic novel. Franklin Lorenzo Piccolini, also known as Frankie Pickle, doesn't like to clean his room. When his mom gets tired of telling him to clean up, she finally tells him that he no longer has to clean his room, as long as he deals with the consequences. So Frankie does his best to make a mess, with a little help from his active imagination. What happens, though, is a little too much mess even for Frankie, and so he uses that same imagination to help him conquer his closet of doom.

Tintin's note: I liked all the comics because they were so great. Frankie Pickle and his dog were doing exciting things.

More info on Frankie Pickle and its author at Watch. Connect. Read.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound 

Johnny Boo, age 5

Interrupting Chicken
Author/illustrator: David Ezra Stein
Publisher: Candlewick Press (August 2010)
Source: Public library

Chicken can't stop herself from interrupting all the stories her father reads to her at bedtime. He starts reading Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Chicken Little, but before Papa can finish, Chicken jumps right in and saves the characters from danger. Papa runs out of stories to read to Chicken, but Chicken can't go to sleep without one. Papa suggests to Chicken that she tell him a bedtime story, but she soon gets a taste of her own medicine. Johnny Boo loves that Chicken can just jump right in to the books and interact with the characters.

Johnny Boo's note: I like it because it's a great book. I like when the chicken interrupts the stories.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Balloon Toons: Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors
Author/illustrator: Ethan Long
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Source: Public library

Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors is a graphic novel for beginning readers. In it Rack teaches the reluctant Rick to fish, figures out the mysterious tracks (from a fire-breathing dragon, maybe?) made during the two animals' hike, and shows Rick how to row a canoe and why it's important to wear a life jacket. Each of the threes stories has a funny ending and left Johnny Boo wanting more. While there aren't any more Rick & Rack books, there are several more Balloon Toon books, and if you're a fan of Toon Books, you'll probably like these as well.

Johnny Boo's note: I like it because they go fishing. I like when they're on a path.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

5-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye; Owly; The Silly Gooses

Here are Johnny Boo's favorites from the past week:

Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye 1: Hamster and Cheese
Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye 2: And Then There Were Gnomes
Author/illustrator: Colleen AF Venable/Stephanie Yue
Publisher: Graphic Universe (April 2010)
Source: Public library


Sasspants is a bookish guinea pig who lives in a pet shop, but when she loses a "G" from her tank, one of the hamsters mistakes her for a PI and insists that she solve a case for him. Hamisher the hamster, who thinks he's a koala (the pet shop owner isn't very good at telling animals apart, and so the snake tank is labeled "Llamas" and the mice tank is labeled "Walruses"), refuses to leave Sasspants alone until she agrees to find out who keeps stealing the pet shop owner's sandwiches. In And Then There Were Gnomes, Hamisher again convinces Sasspants to solve a case for him, but this time they need to find out who the ghost is and where the missing mice are. At the end of each graphic novel, there is a section called "Hamisher Explains": In the first book Hamisher tells us about snakes and in the second one his subject of choice is mice. And because Mr. Venezi, the pet shop owner, gets his animals confused, the last page of each book explains the differences between the real animals and the ones he mistakes them for. Tintin likes these too, although he hasn't been able to get the first one away from his brother yet.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when Sasspants meets that hamster. In the second book I like the title because it's kind of scary.

Find Hamster and Cheese: Amazon, IndieBound
Find And Then There Were Gnomes: Amazon, IndieBound

Owly, Vol. 5: Tiny Tales
Author/illustrator: Andy Runton
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions (October 2008)
Source: Public library

The fifth volume of Owly includes a new Owly adventure and a collection of the first Owly stories from the original mini-comics. There are also two Free Comic Book Day stories, as well as sections on how Owly came to be and how to draw Owly. In this all-ages wordless graphic novel, and in the other Owly volumes, the adorable Owly and his friends show a love of nature and the importance of helping friends in need. Johnny Boo loves it when we read Owly together, but I think he wishes a lightbulb would appear over his own head whenever he gets an idea.

Johnny Boo's note: Owly has no words, but I like it. I like it because it has lots of pictures. I like every picture of Andy Runton.

Find out more about Owly at Watch. Connect. Read.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

The Silly Gooses
Author/illustrator: Dav Pilkey
Publisher: Blue Sky Press (1997)
Source: Public library

The Silly Gooses is six chapters of silliness. Mr. Goose is not proper and serious like the other geese in his flock. He plays the accordion and wears a jester's hat, and he rests on a beanbag chair instead of in a nest. While all the other geese are ready to be married, Mr. Goose just keeps on being silly. But when another flock of geese appears, one goose (who happens to be riding in a hot air balloon and playing the banjo) catches his eye. They fall in love and get married, and instead of having a cake and throwing a big party, they have a party and throw a big cake (at the proper and serious geese). They eventually have two silly babies who put ketchup and mustard on their ice cream sundaes and hot fudge sauce on their burgers, and they all go on to lead a very silly life. I'm not sure how many times we've read this book this week, but it's been a lot.

Johnny Boo's note: Dav Pilkey – his first name is really funny. I like when the silly goose falls in the water.

Find The Silly Gooses activities

Find the book: Amazon

5-Year-Old Boy Books of the Week: Chalk, Gabby & Gator, Mostly Monsterly

Here are Johnny Boo's favorites from the past week:

Chalk
Author/illustrator: Bill Thomson
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books (March 2010)
Source: Public library

Chalk is a wordless picture book about three children (Johnny Boo named them Annie, Jamie and Ben) who on a rainy day find a bag of seemingly harmless chalk at the playground. The children watch as their drawings magically come to life, but when the boy decides to draw a dinosaur, the children try to figure out how to escape. The illustrations in Chalk so vividly tell the children's story without the need for words and allow the reader to use his imagination (see Johnny Boo's child-naming above). Johnny Boo loves this book and has had me read it to him over and over again.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when the dinosaur came out of the ground and his foot was stuck.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Gabby & Gator
Author/illustrator: James Burks
Publisher: Yen Press (September 2010)
Source: Public library

Gator gets flushed down the toilet by his first owner and ends up in a sewer. As he grows he begins terrorizing and eating any pet who crosses his path and everyone in town, except for a little girl named Gabby, is afraid of him. And so they become friends. Gator helps Gabby, who just wants to find someone who will accept her for who she is, with her bully troubles. Gabby helps Gator when he's captured by animal control and tries to teach him that it's not okay to eat animals or humans. A graphic novel with some funny parts throughout, especially at the end, Johnny Boo and I read this twice, and Tintin enjoyed it as well.

Johnny Boo's note: I loved when that boy flushed Gator down the toilet.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound

Mostly Monsterly
Author/illustrator: Tammi Sauer/Scott Magoon
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books (August 2010)
Source: Public library

Bernadette is a monster. Unlike the other monsters in her class, however, Bernadette is not 100 percent monsterly. She likes flowers and group hugs, and she likes baking unmonsterly cupcakes for her friends. She has trouble relating to the other monsters and they to her until she discovers how to be monsterly and sweet at the same time. She finally learns how to be accepted but also remain true to herself.

Johnny Boo's note: I like when the mayhem comes.

Find it: Amazon, IndieBound